Regret
by kagomes heart
Summary: Sasuke comes to regret many things now that he is older.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N**

**Yeah I know its still not another chapter for Destiny, but this idea got stuck in my head and I wanted to get it out. I think its partially because when I started writing Destiny the InuYasha anime was still running and now I've seen all the episodes it isn't foremost in my mind anymore. Although the latest chapter of the manga has kinda got my interest going again. So hopefully inspiration will hit again.**

**Until then, more Naruto. This will probably be short like the first one I posted but I've already expanded on what I had originally written. So its already gotten a little bit longer than I anticipated. I was going to make it another oneshot but decided to split it up into a few chapters.**

**KH.**

**Disclaimer :-Naruto and all the characters in it are the creations of Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Regret**

Her desperate angry voice echoed in his head and he watched as she frantically tried to heal the silver haired jounin at his feet. He felt numb, his determination deflating at the outcome of his actions. What had he done? What if the man lying before him died? He'd fought them, his friends on previous occasions, once nearly killing Naruto but he had been younger then. Now older seeing the strength they possessed fighting alongside each other, he began to wonder if his path had been the right one. Deep in his heart he knew a part of him had always thought that he could return home once his mission was accomplished, if he managed to survive it. But would they forgive him if Kakashi died, could he really forgive himself?

He had lied to himself the first time, that yes if killing Naruto meant he could achieve his goal then it was worth it. Every time they had come to return him home he'd looked at them with cold eyes, and spoke dispassionately as if they meant nothing to him. He had lied to himself and them, the bitter feeling coiling in his gut at the sight of his battered former teacher hammered that truth home. He had told himself he didn't care so many times he had come to believe it. He had to believe it, they were better off staying away from him and so was he. His hands shook as he stared at the blood coating them, the blood of a man who had once been so important to him, part of an elite group he had wished to protect, only to betray them and follow a different path.

His eyes drifted to rest on a lone shining object resting upon the fallen ninja's chest, a woman's wedding ring hanging by a simple silver chain. His dull coal orbs widened in shock. He had never known his former teacher to be sentimental to the point where he would display such an object so openly on his person. He had always been very secretive about himself, never giving away much at all, if anything. Sasuke smirked briefly remembering the day the team had met their leader. All they had gotten out of him that day was his name. The ring must have held some extreme importance for the man lying before him. Who did it belong to Sasuke wondered, what were they to the man fighting for his life? Had Sasuke deprived someone of a husband? A father?

He moved his attention to the pink haired medic nin trying to save the life of Kakashi Hatake, his former teacher. Tears pooled in her eyes and her slender frame shook with the effort her already battle tired body was pouring into the wounded man before her. Her hair was mussed, her face flushed with exertion and her emerald eyes shone with determination. To Sasuke she had never looked more beautiful, he realized she was still screaming at him.

"Dammit Sasuke. How much of a fool are you? Just how much are you willing to sacrifice for revenge? Will I be next then Naruto? When will you stop being so selfish? It isn't just your body you're playing with, but the lives of everyone in Konoha, don't you realize that? Don't you know that once Orochimaru gains control of your body he'll raze Konoha to the ground? He was formidable before, but, with the sharingan at his disposal, he'll be unbeatable. Is revenge for the death of your clan worth the destruction of the village they lived and died for? Is killing Itachi worth becoming a worse monster than he is?"

She sighed tiredly, her posture slumping slightly as the effects of molding so much charka began to take it toll.

"Do you even care?"

The tears fell freely down her face now and Sasuke watched them, transfixed by the glistening trails they made on her pale skin and the way the moonlight made them sparkle. He felt his heart race as she sat back on her heels, sighing in relief and broke into the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. She leaned forward slightly trailing her fingers gingerly over Kakashi's masked face, smiling tiredly as she spoke, forgetting for the moment that Sasuke was even there.

"You're going to be okay, thank kami you're going to be okay."

Sasuke's attention snapped back to the present after realizing that the ninja on the tree next to him had stopped. He followed suit sending him a questioning gaze, only to be quieted down as the blonde haired ninja dropped to the forest floor. He turned to check upon the sleeping woman resting on his back. She was still fast asleep, worn out from pushing herself so hard. She looked so peaceful, just like that night he had knocked her out cold and left her upon a bench as he had walked off towards his destiny. He brushed her hair gently off of her face whispering quietly to her.

"Thank you Sakura, my strength was here all along." He turned hearing the loud of cough of Naruto on the tree next to him and cocked his head in question.

"Jiraiya made it back he sent Gamakichi to let us know they'll be expecting us so you won't have to worry about being attacked. You will have to see the Hokage as soon as possible though, you are a missing nin after all."

"Hn"

Naruto grinned at the raven-haired ninja's response.

"C'mon teme we're nearly there." And he pushed off, racing ahead through the trees before Sasuke could reply in kind.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N - I'm not entirely happy with this but I was having real trouble with it and rewrote it numerous ways. Maybe later I'll come back to it and tinker with it again. I think there only be one more chapter to this. I could probably make it longer, you know write more about the aftermath, but I think it will be better to leave it as I intended it.**

**Enjoy!**

**KH.**

**Disclaimer :- Naruto and all the characters in it are the creations of Masashi Kishimoto**

**Regret -Chapter 2**

"Still alive then teme?" Naruto grinned at the tired Uchiha who slumped down on the seat next to him.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke sighed wearily running a hand through his hair before sitting back in the chair, and letting his arms hang down at his sides, his head tilted upwards towards the blank hospital ceiling. He took a deep breath before filling Naruto in on the details of his meeting with the hokage.

"Jiraiya filled them in on the basics and I will have to sit through a formal hearing. But considering I returned to Konoha and aided in Orochimaru's death I probably won't be executed. Besides I'm worth more to this village alive then dead. They sent me over here finally to get looked at, not that I really need it."

He stopped speaking and glanced downwards to take in the blond ninja's appearance. His jacket was open and he was shirtless underneath, his rib cage was bound tightly. Bandages also adorned his right arm and he had some minor cuts and bruising to the face. Other than that and his tired expression he appeared to be fine.

"Seems you didn't need too much tending either."

"Hahaha, nah. Thanks to the Kyuubi I heal pretty fast, besides I had help in my fight. Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei had it tougher. You don't look so bad either."

Sasuke noted that the blonde's blue eyes lost a little of their sparkle when mentioning his former teammates. And he steeled himself for bad news.

"How are they?" He looked down to the floor, unable to look Naruto in the eye.

'They have to be alright, if they weren't Naruto would be trying to kill me right?'

The blonde haired ninja shifted around in his seat a little before scratching his head and responding. He looked over at Sasuke noting his guilty expression.

"Eh, they'll be okay. Sakura's fine at least, she just needs to rest up. She's suffering from severe charka depletion. The rest of her injuries were minor really, nothing at least that required too much healing.

Kakashi will probably be laid up for a while, but he's going to make it. Sakura managed to heal his more severe injuries, the medic nins here took care of the rest. Course he'll die once he wakes up. Sakura-chan is going to kill him for being so reckless. He shouldn't have let himself get distracted like that, she had everything under control with Kabuto. Kakashi should have been concentrating on fighting you! Though I guess I can understand him worrying about her. Still it worked out, she healed him and talked some sense into you and you helped ero-senin and I kill that snake bastard.

Listening to him talk so calmly Sasuke began to realize just how much Naruto had grown in his absence. What else had he missed he wondered as his thoughts drifted to replay the previous nights events in his mind.

Sakura's strength and skill had amazed him. Gone was the weak, annoying little girl he remembered and in her place was a strong, confidant kunoichi.

In the past the sight of Kabuto probably would have paralyzed her with fear, but she hadn't hesitated when he'd announced that he would be her opponent. In the glimpses Sasuke had gotten of her during his own fight with Kakashi he had been shocked to see how easily she fought Orochimaru's subordinate. Oh he'd gotten hits in from time to time, one in particularly had sounded nasty enough for her to cry out. It had been loud enough that Kakashi had taken his eyes off of their fight to shout out her name in concern and look her way to check on her condition. Ordinarily it wouldn't have mattered except Sasuke had been charging up the Chidori. Why would his former sensei do something so stupid? Why? Sasuke had gone over and over it and still couldn't come up with a good enough reason.

He'd watched the jounin's body slump to the floor and heard Sakura's cry of anguish. He vaguely remembered hearing another body hit the ground hard, later finding out that it had been Kabuto falling to the floor dead.

Seconds later he'd registered her voice screaming at him as he'd stood there shocked that he had probably killed his former teacher. Her words had tugged at the feelings hidden in his heart. Feelings he'd buried so deeply, he'd begun to believe the lies he'd spun himself over the years. But with Kakashi's blood on his hands and the grief in her eyes he couldn't deny them anymore. Even if it made him weak, he did care about them, the question was how much? Was Itachi worth their lives? Was he worth the lives of everyone in Konoha? He'd already had his family taken from him once, was killing his brother worth losing them all over again? The disgusted look Sakura gave him as Kakashi violently coughed up some blood was all the answer Sasuke had needed.

Seeing her look at him like that had hurt. Seeing her finally give up on him was something he couldn't live with. Every time they had come to find him, he had told them to go home, whilst secretly deep down he had been happy to see them. To know that they still cared, that they still believed in him, it made what he was doing worth it. In Itachi's eyes it might make him weak, but he couldn't be a monster in theirs he just couldn't.

He'd looked down to watch her hands start to shake and then she'd smiled and his heart had stopped. This is what he wanted, he wanted to protect that smile, not destroy it. He'd told her he was going to help the others, tried to tell her he was sorry. She'd acknowledged him with a slight shake of her head, her expression softening somewhat and the pain around his heart had eased a little. He watched her brush some hair gently off of Kakashi's face before running in to help with the rest of the fight.

When he'd seen her again afterwards she'd been slumped over Kakashi unconscious. Whoever was left standing, tired as they were had picked up the injured and headed back towards home. Orochimaru was dead and the hidden village of Sound destroyed. Jiraiya had taken the more severely injured back home courtesy of Gamabunta. Sasuke hadn't let anyone near Sakura, if anyone was going to take her back it was going to be him. So Naruto had ended up with Kakashi. Upon reaching Konoha's hospital the medic nins had taken charge and Sasuke surrounded by Anbu had been led to the Hokage.

"Oi Sasuke!"

Naruto shook the stoic Uchiha who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He was a bit concerned but then again a lot had happened and a lot had changed. Naruto wondered just how much Sasuke had already noticed. Some things were going to be a major adjustment. During their travel back to the village the only conversation the raven-haired ninja had made was to enquire about the chain around Kakashi's neck. He'd told him the truth that it belonged to Kakashi's wife. She had his ring around her neck and it was their rule when one of them went on a mission to swap them, returning them back to each other when they came home. It spurred them both on to come home safely, to know that they had someone waiting for them to return. He just hadn't told him who Kakashi's wife was, that he would leave up to her if Sasuke didn't figure it out beforehand. He couldn't be entirely sure that Sasuke would care anyway. But, something told him that as much as he had pushed them all away he'd pushed her away more harshly because he really cared for her, probably as much as she had cared for him. And she had waited a long time for him before she'd finally given up hope of him ever returning and moved on with her life. Part of him wanted to be there when he found out, but this was between the two of them and he'd be there afterwards when they needed him. He took a deep breath and smiled over at his friend.

"They said you can go in and see Sakura now if you want, the nurse will lead you to her room. You can go on ahead, Hinata will kill me if I don't go check in with her first."

He watched Sasuke raise an eyebrow in question at the mention of the Hyuuga's name.

"Hinata is my wife now."

He laughed at the surprised expression on Sasuke's face.

"You'll find a lot has changed around here teme, you never should have left. Go check on Sakura-chan."

"Hn" Sasuke nodded in reply and got up to leave, he turned briefly to look at Naruto and shook off the feeling that something was wrong. The blonde ninja looked happy enough but he was sure he had detected something more behind Naruto's words than a simple rebuke for leaving them. And something Naruto had said earlier had bothered him a lot, but he was too tired to really think too hard about it. He lingered for a moment until Naruto motioned for him to leave and then turned to follow the nurse to Sakura's room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay everyone, the third and final part. Ack and I already have another idea ready to write after this one. Sorry Destiny readers, it's another Naru fic I have in mind. But I have been thinking more and more about Destiny, so hopefully I'll be hit with inspiration there soon. Writing these Naruto fics as they come into my head is definitely helping.**

**And so is reading the manga, the latest chapter was really, really sad. But I was heartened by some of Inu's words. Hehe he never said Kikyou was the only woman he ever loved, just the first! (Sorry I'm a sucker for whatever romance between Inu and Kagome that Takahashi throws our way).**

**I like this chapter better than the last one, but there are still some parts I really don't like, but I've rewritten it quite a few times already, and I still can't make some parts work as well as I want to.**

**Oh well maybe one day, until then, enjoy it as is!**

**K.H**

**Disclaimer: -Naruto and all the characters in it are the creations of Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Regret – Chapter 3.**

The rising sun bathed the building in its warm orange glow, illuminating the two figures walking in silence along the hospital hallway.

Sasuke followed behind the nurse, his head down making his long raven bangs fall down around his face. His shoulders were slumped and his hands were pushed firmly into his pockets.

He stopped abruptly, noticing that the rhythmic clicking of the nurse's shoes on the hard hospital floor had come to a halt.

His black eyes widened slightly as she turned to place a comforting hand on his arm, her blue eyes softening as she turned to meet his gaze. She gave him a soft smile and squeezed his arm reassuringly and then turned away from him to open the door.

Upon entering the room the nurse headed straight for Sakura and began to check her vitals. Sasuke paid her little attention as he scanned the unconscious form of the pink haired kunoichi before him. His eyes unable to make it past her peaceful face. The sun had almost completely risen, enveloping her in its soft rays, lending her an ethereal glow. He took in her long dusty lashes and the way her shoulder length pale pink locks fanned out around her on the pillow. Her slightly parted lips looked soft and plump and her chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm. She looked content and Sasuke couldn't help the small smile that came to his face.

"No doubt when she wakes up, you can exchange them right back, now you're both here safe and sound."

"Huh?" Sasuke looked up at the nurse in confusion to see her smiling happily at him. She was standing at the foot of the bed, hooking the patient chart back to the bed's frame. She motioned towards the bed with her right hand, pointing a finger towards something. Sasuke turned, following the direction of her pointed digit. He took a long moment to survey the sleeping woman before him. His heart skipped painfully in his chest as his eyes caught a small shining object lying upon the sleeping woman's chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm pretty new here, but even so Sakura-san is very well known around the hospital. And the other nurses told me about you two exchanging rings when you head off on missions. The other nurses and I think it's so romantic…"

The nurse continued to speak, but Sasuke had long stopped listening. His obsidian eyes were still focused on the chain around Sakura's neck and the wedding ring it was looped through. The pressure in his chest got tighter and tighter the longer he stared at it. He closed his eyes tightly trying to push back the burning sensation of forming tears and his hands formed trembling fists at his sides. His jaw clamped itself shut tightly to fight the scream of anguish trying to tear its way free from his mouth. He opened his eyes, thinking that if he looked back at her once again he'd find it was his imagination. But it was still there mocking him so he turned away unable to look at it any longer. He realized the nurse was still talking and tried to focus on what she was saying, hoping it might distract him from his feelings.

"I know you're worried, draining her chakra like that was dangerous in her condition. But your wife is a very strong woman. She and the baby will be just fine. I'll leave you two alone for a little while, she should be waking up very soon and I have a few other patients to check on. I'll be back soon."

She threw him a quick smile, completely oblivious to the effect of her words on his heart. He turned back around to stare at Sakura in shock, stumbling over to collapse in the chair beside her bed. He raked his hand roughly through his hair, trying desperately to make sense of the situation, thoughts racing through his head like wildfire.

'Why didn't you tell me Naruto?' He sighed loudly, feeling defeated.

'Why would he tell you anything you baka, its not like he would think it was urgent news to you. After all, its not like you ever acted like you cared about her in that way.'

He began to try to rationalize the situation, but one thought kept returning.

'But she told me she loved me…'

Sasuke bit his lip at the rising tide of anger that threatened to overwhelm at the thought of her loving someone other than himself. He looked over at her, his anger dissipating at the sight of her serene face.

'Baka, why would she wait? Did you ever tell her you loved her? That you wanted her? That you'd return to her?'

He cupped her face gently, placing a soft kiss upon her slightly parted lips, looking at her with eyes full of regret.

"No I never did tell you how much I love you did I?"

**Owari**


End file.
